2022 ended with its wars and economic crises weeks ago, and despite the harshness of the past year, at its end was the unique World Cup experience in Qatar (November 20-December 18), which represented the most positive and joyful event for the Arabs in our region.
And at the beginning of 2023, there were many questions about the economy, as in light of the rampant inflation, no voice was raised above its voice;
Is the goal solely profit, regardless of the impact of economic activity on the environment and life on this planet?
Are fair wages and employee profit sharing a luxury that should not be considered until companies succeed and the profitability of shareholders and executives increases?
Is politics a purely utilitarian pragmatic process in which there is no room for morals and values?
Should politicians follow the rules of Niccolo Machiavelli and consider politics and morals never to meet?!
This is a kind of painful question, and some imagine that its answer is more painful, and we will try to review many political experiences in our Arab countries, South America, Africa and many countries, whether developed or developing, in order to discover: Is the practice of politics with ethical standards more beneficial and better for the people, or is it practiced with deception, lies, conspiracy and following a rule That the end justifies the means?!
Is there a real intention to rein in the transnational corporations that donate generously to politicians in many industrialized countries so that laws and legislations are enacted in the interest of these corporations?
It takes a great field and awareness effort to force these politicians and companies to strictly respect environmental standards, not non-binding statements and decisions in protocol conferences that are not even worth the value of the paper they are written on.
Latin America is a shining example
The President of Uruguay, Jose Mujica (2010-2015), is considered one of the lowest-income presidents in the world, as his monthly salary was $12,000 a month. He donated nearly 90% of it to charities to support his poor people (only $1,200 remains for him) and he owns a Volkswagen Beetle made in 1987. , and resides in a small farm owned by his wife instead of the presidential palace, which he ordered to open for the homeless in the winter in the event that there are no places for them to protect them from the winter cold in shelters, and he also dispensed with the presidential plane in order to buy with its price ambulance planes to support his people.
And from Uruguay to Mexico, when Mexico was facing a severe financial crisis, President Andres Obrador sold the famous presidential plane, valued at $218 million, which was known as the White Elephant. More than half of its population is below the poverty line.
He said that the proceeds of the luxury plane on which the former rulers were traveling will go to support government hospitals and provide medicines for the poor who suffer hardships.
And this was not the only luxury plane that was decided to be sold, but it was one of the 60 government planes that President Obrador decided to put up for sale because he was ashamed and disgraced when officials were blessed in a country where the majority of its population suffers from poverty and need.
And from Mexico to Chile, where a young president (35 years old) who sided with the standards of moral politics was elected, "Gabriel Buric", who sided with the poor and development plans, and from his famous sayings that fall into the category of social democracy: "If Chile is the cradle of neoliberalism, it will also be its grave." .
Among his sayings that oppose savage capitalism, "We are a generation that came to public life, demanding respect for its rights, not to be treated as consumer goods or a business deal."
And about the completed justice, he said, "We know that there is still justice for the rich, and another justice for the poor, and we will not allow the poor to continue to pay the price of inequality in Chile." He said of the Zionist occupation entity that it is a murderous state.
In complete contrast, General Augusto Pinochet was the bloody dictator of Chile and the enemy of democracy who seized power in a military coup, suspended the constitution and froze political life, repressed, liquidated and tortured opponents of his neoliberal tendencies and his desire to transform Chile into a nation of businessmen and protectors of American interests and global capitalism, where he launched operations A privatization marred by corruption, and he cut taxes on corporate profits and wealth, impoverishing the vast majority of the Chilean population.
And from Chile to Brazil, Lula de Silva, the champion of the poor, and Bolsonaro, the man of the United States, dubbed Trump Brazil.
Lula de Silva implemented economic development programs focused on improving the lives of the poor and creating tens of millions of job opportunities, which led to the transformation of Brazil during that period (2003-2011) from a country ravaged by poverty, most of its population and burdened by accumulated debt, to a country with the sixth strongest economy in the world.
In just 5 years, Brazil paid off its debts in full and turned into a lender after being overburdened with debts, the country's gross domestic product multiplied 5 times in 8 years, and the minimum wage doubled 3 times, and Brazil became a country of international weight as President de Silva was one of the top Those interested in the issue of climate change.
As for the Bolsonaro period, it represents the opposite of everything de Silva represents, especially in the field of environment and climate change, as Bolsonaro’s presidency witnessed a rise in the rate of deforestation in the country, especially the Amazon forest known as the “lung of the world” by 75% compared to De Silva’s position, in addition to His complete bias towards multinational corporations and businessmen at the expense of the poor and the environment, which led to a deterioration in the economic situation and an increase in poverty and crime rates.
The continent of Africa and the beginnings of impartial good governance
Joyce Banda, President of Malawi (from April 2012 to May 2014) fought rampant corruption in the country that led to more than 65% of the population falling below the poverty line, reduced her salary by 30%, sold the presidential plane, and ordered the sale of 60 presidential cars In order to contribute to solving the difficult economic problem and feeding the hungry in Malawi.
South Africa and Rwanda are great examples
Leader Nelson Mandela is considered one of the icons of moral politics, who was an example of austerity, integrity and humility. South Africa during the apartheid era was a wild forest, and despite that, the luminous thing that distinguished the freedom fighters, who became the leaders of the country "and in the heart of them Mandela" is Their ability to pardon and forgive as they sought truth, reconciliation and building a state of law rather than revenge.
One of Mandela's inspiring sayings is that the brave do not fear tolerance for the sake of peace, and this is what made South Africa one of the economically strong BRICS countries, despite its painful experiences as a result of the apartheid policy.
Rwanda's experience in national reconciliation is a clear example, although since 1994 there has been one of the worst massacres in modern history, as nearly a million Rwandans were killed and massacred in just 100 days.
Traditions of tolerance, justice and fair trials were resorted to that made the Rwandan society cohesive and work together after settling the bitterness of the past, and now Rwanda is achieving one of the highest growth rates in Africa and is developing significantly technologically and economically, after national reconciliation.
President Kennedy was an example of tolerance, combating racism, and bias towards the right to many issues, such as the Palestinian cause and the rights of African Americans who suffered from marginalization and inequality.
From Africa to the Far East
The name of Najib Abdul Razzaq (former Prime Minister of Malaysia) was associated with one of the biggest scandals of financial corruption and embezzlement from the Malaysian Development Fund. He transferred $700 million to his personal accounts and claimed that it was a personal gift for him, in addition to his appropriation of other funds, which made the court condemn him in the strongest terms and imprison him with provisions Final 12 years, and Abdul Razzaq cooperated with many suspicious businessmen and influential and financial institutions that do not have a good reputation such as the investment bank "Goldman Sachs", which is not above the level of suspicion, and there are many cases filed against him on charges of corruption, crimes and money laundering (the scandal was settled Goldman Sachs with Malaysia after the bank paid $ 3.9 billion in compensation to Malaysia).
Abdul Razzaq is an example of the utilitarian, immoral politician who transformed the Malaysian economy into a weak economy with its corruption and transferred the dependency of the Malaysian sovereign decision to countries with interests that conflict with Malaysia's national interests.
In complete contrast was Mahathir Muhammad, who led the renaissance of Malaysia after more than 70% of the Malaysian population was below the poverty line, and during the years of his rule Malaysia became one of the Asian tigers, and the annual per capita income increased from one thousand to 16 thousand dollars, and the poverty rate decreased to less From 4%, unemployment rates became less than 3%, and the volume of cash reserves increased from 3 billion to 98 billion, and the volume of exports jumped from about 15 billion to 200 billion, by purifying Malaysia from corruption, raising efficiency and being honest, and interest in education and manufacturing were The cornerstone of the Malaysian renaissance, which was built on the moral foundations of a clear bias towards the Palestinian cause, the fight against corruption, the independence of national decision-making and non-subordination.
Two examples across the ocean: Kennedy and Trump
President Kennedy was an example of tolerance, combating racism, and bias towards the right in many issues, such as the Palestinian cause and the rights of African Americans who suffered from marginalization and inequality. The complete opposite was President Trump summoning all components of racism and the extreme right against Muslims, blacks, and Latinos, in a way that devoted societal division and blatant racism that hurt American society so much and encouraged counter-immigration to Canada and other countries.
Qatar 2022 and the inspiring experience
At the end of 2022, there was no voice louder than the World Cup. Qatar dazzled the world with a more than wonderful organization that surpassed any previous tournament, and the most beautiful thing is that it is considered the distinguished and only tournament that adheres to high ethical standards that reflect the values of Arab and Islamic culture, which is the main cultural component of Arab societies. And the Gulf.
In complete contrast in our Arab region, other models promote normalization and alienation from Arab and Islamic values and cooperate with immoral companies such as the Israeli "NSO" (NSO) to spy on journalists and dissidents, promote the occupying entity, normalize with it and invest in it on the grounds that this is a pragmatic utilitarian matter. Ethics has nothing to do with politics or the economy, as promoted by beneficiaries and printers.
Despite Qatar being subjected to systematic media campaigns from Israel and some countries that support it and promote normalization with it, and many European countries that promote things that are inconsistent with our Arab and Islamic culture and against normal human instinct, and despite all these campaigns, lies and falsehoods, the values of Islam, chivalry, generosity and justice are entrenched among the peoples of the world in its six continent. The Palestinian issue, and the women felt safe as a result of determining the locations of alcoholic beverages (liquor) and reducing the times allowed for serving them, which made this session the safest and most secure, and Qatar was able to establish to the Arab and Islamic peoples that we can succeed and dazzle the world by being proud of our values, culture and religion and not be freaks as it unfortunately does other countries.
Leaders' values and their impact on consolidating concepts
We conclude from the rich experiences of ethical leaders that success is a decision that requires a sincere political will that has a real desire for independence and siding with the masses of people and not for the influential class or the stakeholders and relations with transnational corporations, and any country can have an inspiring person like Mandela, and carry out a just social reconciliation like Rwanda People can choose between the corrupt Abd al-Razzaq model or the Mahathir model that is biased towards his people, justice, transparency and development, and there is space to choose between the example of Trump and Kennedy.
Siding with the Arab Spring or the counter-revolution, the model of Pinochet, the Chilean dictator who promotes savage liberalism, or Gabriel Portisch, the honest democrat, as well as the model of Lula de Silva, who is biased towards the poor, or Bolsonaro, the man of neoliberalism in Brazil, are all choices based either on bias towards the system of values and morals, or on immoral expediency.
The World Cup was an organizationally, morally and ethically inspiring experience, which made the Arabs and Muslims, and even the honorable and loyal Westerners, Africans and Asians, in a clear comparison between Qatar's ethical model and other immoral models. On earth, and it was said by the companion Othman bin Affan, may God be pleased with him, that God will dispose of what is not dispersed by the Qur’an by the Sultan, so the values of leaders inspire people and influence new generations and contribute to creating a true enlightening value awareness based on morals, justice and equality, and then a real, sustainable and socially interconnected renaissance and compatible with the environment.
We hope to step and build on the impact of this inspiring experience, and continue on this bright path, as the journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.